The article is a fascinating read, and I highly recommend
it. However, one criticism I have is that the authors paint broadly and likely
hits all riding associations with their brush. The journalists found that
several riding associations have gigantic financial bases. Ridings of prominent
MPs have hundreds of thousands in the bank and pull in substantial amounts
annually. Unsurprisingly the wealthiest riding association in Canada is Stephen
Harper’s riding of Calgary Southwest. Harper’s riding has a third of a million
dollars in reserve. Other prominent parliamentarians had wealth riding
associations.

The reason why is easy enough to understand. Whether or
not it’s true, people believe donating money gives access to politicians. I
admit that I have engaged in this line of thinking. By donating a little money,
or giving at an important time, you feel like perhaps your name will go on a
list and be remembered for a job or something. Or, perhaps by attending a
fundraising event you’ll rub elbows and meet interesting people. After a year I
realized a person of my means cannot play that game with any amount of success.
Conservatives from across the country probably give to the Calgary Southwest Conservative
Riding Association in hopes it will bring them closer to the leader of their
party and the Prime Minister.

However the dozens of very wealthy riding associations
are merely outliers. My experience in the Brampton West NDP has been as a
pauper riding association. Riding associations outside of areas of strengths,
or with a strong activist base are basically penniless. When I discussed this
article with a fellow activist I mentioned it must be nice to be in a riding
with that kind of money, and it would be nice to work in a riding with tens of
thousands in the bank. She laughed and countered that it would be nice to work
for a riding with tens in the bank.

The current system and the practices of the very wealthy
EDAs leaves much to be desired and there is a high risk that laws are being
bent, if not broken. In the official filings ridings are mislabelling and
misreporting their spending with no consequence. The trouble is that if
regulations are tightened on riding associations it will make engagement and
participation more difficult.

If the accounting practices become stricter and penalties
harsher for misreporting the chances have it that the wealthy ridings who can
hire professionals will continue to do well while small ridings with amateur
staff will fall victim of careless mistakes. We put a great deal of our
democratic system in the hands of volunteers. The simplest approach, I assume,
would be to hire regional directors from the central party to make sure riding
associations uphold the laws and help them with a stricter code. Obviously
better accounting and accountability is required, but the best mechanism to
carry it out is unclear at this time.